Being Married and Teaching at the Same School

Meet TFA alumni Nicholas and Kate, who are not only married but teach at the same school too.
Video by Faviola Leyva and Joel Serin-Christ

About Kate and Nicholas

Kate Moss (Houston ’15) and Nicholas Palomino Mendoza (Houston ’14)

Married: December 30, 2018, in Houston, Texas

Home: Houston, Texas

Careers: Kate is a fifth grade ELA teacher at KIPP Liberation College Prep. Nicholas teaches eighth grade ELA at the same school.

What was it like meeting each other for the first time?

Kate:After flying in from Alabama, I’d lost my luggage and had to wear this uncomfortable romper for the next 36 hours. My roommate, whom I’d known for four seconds, drove me to Target because I desperately needed a change of clothes. I walked into my first corps member meeting where Nicholas was our advisor and I felt disgusting after being in the humidity for so long. I was a mess.

Nicholas: My first impression of Kate was that she looked fly.

What about the first conversation?

Nicholas:It was kind of a forced-hello situation, but it was deeper than most people get after a year of dating. We did an identity activity and learned about our perceived and inner identities.

Kate: I cried during the first activity. I felt super embarrassed and assumed everyone was thinking, great, we’re stuck with this emotional softie. But a couple hours later, Nicholas called to make sure I was OK. That made me feel really cared for.

What’s something you love to do as a couple?

Nicholas: We go to the Austin City Limits Music Festival every Octoberand Coachella every April. Coachella is like Christmas, my birthday, andthe Fourth of July all wrapped in one. And Austin City Limits is a niceTexas fall tradition.

So, big fans of live music?

Nicholas: We love music. Pretty much every trip we plan, we planaround a concert. Kate actually plays the guitar, and I do digital beatsand mashups. Kate was playing guitar and singing the other day, and—actually, I don’t think she knows about this—I recorded it. Hopefully I’mgoing to make something with it.

Kate: I didn’t know about that!

Nicholas: Yeah, our tour actually starts on—just joking. But we do try toencourage one another to get better at ourpassions.

How’d the engagement go down?

Nicholas:I originally planned to propose inIceland during this festival that was going tobe at the base of a waterfall right at the endof institute [in 2017]. Then the festival wascanceled. But we still had tickets to see oneof our favorite bands, Arcade Fire, and themoment felt right when we were there.

Kate: I was completely surprised. When myfavorite song, “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”came on, I was dancing and singing along,then Nicholas tapped me on the arm. I wasthinking, what could he possibly want in thisvery important moment? Is he really going to goto the bathroom now? Then he said, “Kate, let’sget married.”

And now you’re both teachers at the same school?

Nicholas: The kids love to remind us that they know we’re a couple. They’ll ask me, “Are you married to Ms. Moss?” And I’ll respond, “Who’s that?” just to mess with them.

Kate: The kids are convinced they witnessed the moment we started dating and fell in love, because they saw Nicholas buy me a taco outside a random food truck one day. The kids started calling him “Mr. Moss.”

What’s something unexpected that you’ve learned about each other?

Nicholas: Anytime any song from any musicalcomes on, Kate sings. Then I roll my eyes. Notbecause she can’t sing, but because musicalsare silly.

Kate: But when we saw “A Star Is Born” he was weeping!

Nicholas: OK, I might have been weeping. I listened to the song “Shallow” for a week after I saw the movie. Kate got the kids in my class to prank me by playing the song on their tablets on Valentine’s Day.

Kate: It was hilarious! I knew he would be in denial that he listened to that song.

Nicholas: I tried to play it off, I didn’t want to lose cred with the kids. But for the record, that whole soundtrack is very good.

Finish this sentence: You know you’re a Teach For America couple when…

Kate: Feedback about doing the dishes comes in the form of a calendar invite with an agenda, pre-work, a reflection activity, and action steps. Yes, this happened in real life. We were sitting next to each other when he sent it, then he smirked and asked, “Hey, have you checked your email lately?”

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